Guess what‘s cooking in France, Spain and Sweden?

Throughout Europe diets are changing, and they’re impacting on people and planet: this is, in a nutshell, the conclusion of the first report produced for the LiveWell for LIFE project. The report investigates the eating behaviours in Spain, France and Sweden – the project’s pilot countries. It then compares these findings to what the people in these countries should be eating, according to their national dietary guidelines and answers the following questions:

What are the characteristics of the current diets and how does it compare to the traditional diets?

What are the health issues connected to the present diet and their associated costs?

What will happen in the future if business as usual continues?

Results from this report show that current dietary habits in Spain, France and Sweden have progressed from traditional food patterns towards more average Western diets, with too little wholegrain cereals, legumes, fruit and vegetables. Intake of red meat and high-calorie processed foods has increased.

In the next stage of the LiveWell for LIFE project we will be using this information along with greenhouse gas emission data to develop the LiveWell Plate – a tool that can demonstrate what sustainable diets could look like for different European countries.